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Danzy Senna

Danzy Senna (1970- ) is an American writer, best known for her book “Caucasia” (1999), a coming of age story about a girl who is somewhere between black and white. It is about a mulatto who is not tragic. Something Senna knows about first-hand.

Her parents were both writers and both worked for the civil rights movement. Her mother was white, coming from an old-money Wasp family in Boston that once traded slaves. Her father was a blackMexican. Senna, born in Boston, was in between, able to pass as white or black.

But not as biracial: in Boston in the 1970s there was no such thing. You were either black or white. Her parents brought her up as black.

You told us all along that we had to call ourselves black because of this so-called one drop. Now that we don’t have to anymore, we choose to. Because black is beautiful. Because black is not a burden, but a privilege.

She saw herself as black. But because she could pass for white she could hear the things that white people said about blacks behind their backs.

She found that no matter how much whites might talk equality and Martin Luther King and all that, they were still just as hung up about race as blacks were – they just had a different, more subtle way of talking about it. Subtle or not, it was still hard to hear it.

People who do not know her tend to think she is Jewish or Arab.

These days she sees herself as being mixed yet black:

I think of myself as mixed, and I think of myself as part of a long history of African-American writers, so I don’t see them as so distinct as people do these days.

She says not being white helps her as a writer because it gives her an outsider’s point of view. In writing courses she took she noticed that white men, at least those who were not Jewish, had a hard time picking something to write about.

Even though she had been writing stories since at least age 11, when she went off to Stanford she studied medicine instead. But the science courses were too hard and, besides, she found that writing was something she just had to do.

The writers who made her know she should be one too were Colette, James Baldwin and Dostoevsky. She particularly likes Baldwin’s “Giovanni’s Room” and Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment”. And also Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man”.

“Caucasia” was her first book. It was so good it became a hard act to follow. For two years she wrote nothing. In time she did write another book, “Symptomatic” (2004) whose hero is also biracial, but this time more of a tragic mulatto. Her latest book is “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?: A Personal History” (2009). She also writes for magazines, especially about the way race and sex affects how people think of themselves.

It’s a blessing, one that everyone of color should embrace. If one believes that being non-white in the U.S. is a burden or a curse, then that’s a universe, dimension or reality that I don’t ever want to wake up in!

Okay then, I’ll let you explain how and why being a “color,” (a social man-made construct invented 400 years ago by a bunch of white elitists for the purpose of dividing and conquering indentured servants, slaves and poor people of all ethnicities) is a privilege.

I’d really appreciate you showing me why being labeled by a color or race would garner anyone (especially a PoC) any advantage. Privilege =advantage, right?

Being black in America is not a privilege – it is more like the opposite. But what I think Senna means is that insofar as black is beautiful then being black is a privilege. Keep in mind that for her being black is a choice since she can pass for white.

You’d have to talk to white America for their injustices and the need for racial/ethnic classifaction.

I’m so sorry that you feel that being a person of color is such a burden for you. I’ll never let anyone destroy my sense of cultural pride, no matter what. But then again, everyone’s not built the same.

Danzy had it right the first time: being whoever you are IS a privilege.

Do you think people of Color ought to marry each other instead of chasing white people to marry?

I don’t see the media in general promoting love among people of Color because that would undermine the racist/sexist mythology that whites are more desireable.

Danzy Senna chose a very fine looking writer to be her husband. I’m happy for her. The point is that there are plenty of wonderful and talented people of Color to choose from and I don’t understand the idea of choosing white partners over partners of Color.

Hello Mynameismyname. My problem is not with ethnic classifications. Nor is about not having respect and appreciation (pride) for one’s self or people. I have a problem with abstract bull-sh*t like “race” and “color” assignments, and the forced socialization (marginalization and mistreatment) of certain people within the context or confines of “race” in the US and the rest of the racist white-dominated universe.

Believe it or not, I’ve known, seen and embraced the beauty of color and especially blackness for many, many years. And yet, I’ve also witnessed the destruction and pain this designation (or label)of “blackness” has caused for far too many souls in the system of racism (white supremacy)… especially in the indoctrination and subjugation centers (via the use of the ENGLISH LANGUAGE and other forms of oppression) known as public schools. Just look at who America mostly incarcerates in its cages, and corrals in certain urban areas and kills with utter abandon with its racist police force. Look at how many of our young men hate themselves and each other.

So when I read a sentence that clearly states that something is a privilege, I’m NOT seeing in it – “privilege” in terms of beauty, pride, honor, love and that sort of thing. That is not what privilege means to me.

I agree with you to some extent but what I was saying was: despite all the pain and destruction that racism has brought upon people of color, it still is a privilege by birthright. That, to me, outweights the injustice.

It’s like being a victim of child abuse. Oh, being abused, physically or mentally, is anguishing, no doubt. Yet, should the victim love themselves less or think less of themselves? No, there’s nothing wrong the victim. It’s the abuser who the fault lies with. They are the problem.

But again, I do get what you’re saying.

La Reyna,

Did Danzy marry a white man? I do know that she had a child. In the picture I saw, the child had West African-influenced features which lead me to assume that their father was black. In “Caucasia”, the main character (which is based on Senna) is hesitant to become involved with a white man. She does become involved, however, with a black childhood friend. Similar scenario in her also-semi-autobiographical mystery novel, “Symptomatic”.

Well, people of color, in real time, ARE still loving one another for the most part. But I agree, it does seem that many notable non-black minorities disportionately wind up with a white spouse. Why? Do they feel that it will help them assimilate into the white “mainstream”? In a way that a black person never could in the U.S.?

Thank God for the Obamas. A beautiful, smart, ambitious black family in the public eye that GENUINELY loves one another.

that would be a match made in heaven, but is it really true. i knew everett was married, but i didn’t think it was senna. in this article, he is cited as being married to woman named francesca, and has devoted a bulk of his books to her. unless he has since divorced.

They’re married. Matter of fact, Danzy is carrying their SECOND child. Their firstborn’s name is Henry. Google it, for proof. I know that I was plesantly surprised when I found out. They must’ve gotten married recently.

so, he has since divorced. i wasn’t doubting your research, but i read the aforementioned article almost a year ago and remembered a mention of his wife (the dreaded ex now). i also have a copy of erasure, which is dedicated to chessie. i admit the article is dated, and that some serious life changes (like a remarriage and 1.5 kids) must have occurred since then.

i googled it before, and i just kept coming up with the wiki article, and a a couple of some sketchy looking ones, so naturally, i was a bit dubious.

in any case, they are both awesome writers and i’m glad they’ve linked up.

I believe Danzy is a slut. I don’t see why there is any talk about her personal life on here… but i would like to clarify that she was sleeping around on Percival L.Everett and the baby (s) may not be his

I believe Danzy is a slut. I don’t see why there is any talk about her personal life on here… but i would like to clarify that she was sleeping around on Percival L.Everett and the baby (s) may not be his